1958 Chevrolet Corvette - Silver Shadow
Richard has always had a fondness with regards to building cars. His first build was a ’56 F100 which he completed at the tender age of 18. This ’58 Corvette is also one of his dream cars. He found this project in Oregon, USA after 2 years of searching on EBay.
The body of the car was in very bad condition at it was originally a drag car. As the body was fiberglass, rust was no issue. The chassis was the only part that had to be sandblasted by Pro Strip Media & Powder Coating in Mesa, Arizona. The body work took about 4 months to finish.
Richard imported rear fenders and an Ecklers front clip. The reason for this was that the new rear fenders were widened by 2”. 0Once t parts arrived it was on to Walter from Strawberry, Arizona for the Body work. The Independent rear had to be narrowed to facilitate the deep dish on the rear wheels.
The colour that was chosen for the car is called Sparkling Silver and the paint type is Spies Hecker. Richard came across this particular colour whilst browsing online. The paintwork was applied by Elite Automotive Finishes in Mesa, Arizona.
The car still has its original chassis which may have been welded and the cross bracing done by Art Morrison Enterprises. The front and rear suspension is not original, so Richard decided to source a CA Corvette suspension which was installed. He updated the Corvette bolts with minimum modifications. The car has a CA Dana AA and an independent rear suspension. The car also has standard CA brakes. The parts were imported from Twenty-Eight Street Wreckers in Phoenix, Arizona. Richard wanted something more modern when it came to the motor so he opted for a Supercharged 6.2 liter LS3 motor with a T6060 6 speed gearbox that he got direct from GM Performance. The Motor pushes out +/- 546hp.
A stainless-steel exhaust was installed. The intake/carb is fuel injected. The motor transmission come as a “plug & play” kit with a computer and drive by wire.
The interior was done by Mike Valencia at MJR Upholstery and the seats are originally from a 1966 Mustang but have been modified to fit the Corvette. The car has a foldaway soft top. On the inside Richard went with a Billet Specialties steering wheel. The dash and gauges were also upgraded to Dakota Digital Gauges. He also opted for full Aircon in the car that came from Vintage Air.
For wheels Richard went with Pro Touring Series, U379 wheels. The tyre size on the rear is 275/18 and the front 245/18. Bit like Grille/Shell, windows, new glass headlights and taillights where all ordered from Ecklers and replaced.
The bumper had to be modified rear to accommodate widened fenders. He got the IRS narrowed to facilitate the deep dish on the rear wheels. The total build time was just over a year. Since then the car has been shipped to South Africa and Richard has enjoyed a number of road trips in this beautiful old lady.
Currently, Tim’s Garage in the USA are busy rebuilding a 1964 Galaxie with a Coyote motor.
He would like to thank the following people: Tim Perrin
Ash Waldorf from American Connections.
